The Business Year Oman hosts its first Digital Roundtable

The Business Year Oman inaugurates the first of three digital roundtables on the Sultanate’s economy in the COVID-19 era.

On May 11, 2020, The Business Year launched its first digital roundtable on the Omani economy post-COVID-19. Named “Economic impact of COVID-19 outbreak: a private-sector perspective,” the roundtable featured esteemed guests of the Omani ecosystem, including Sheikh Khalil AL Harthy, CEO of Credit Oman, Loai Baitineh, CEO of Ubhar Capital, and Dr. Ashraf Mushrif, Chair of Economics at Sultan Qaboos University.

Thanks to work done behind the scenes by Elena Barreiro, Country Director of The Business Year: Oman 2020, and moderation by Gabriele de Leva, Senior Country Editor, the panel offered an insightful viewpoint on a number of insightful topics.

The discussion started off by offering a macroeconomic analysis of the business and trade environment in the Sultanate. The speakers then moved on to touch on the hedging and growth strategies businesses should adopt, with a particular focus on credit issuance and investment opportunities. Cooperation avenues between the public and private sectors were also discussed, as capital injections from both the government and private investors are necessary to navigate the crisis. Finally, the panel looked at the role technology could play in the economic growth of the Omani business environment.

Technology will also be the main topic of the next digital roundtable hosted by The Business Year on Wednesday, May 20 at 2:00pm GST, with the collaboration and presence of Omantel’s CEO, Sheikh Talal Al Mamari. Named “Digital transformation during and after COVID-19,” the event will be the second of three events, with the last roundtable being set for Wednesday, June 3, at 11:00am GST, with a focus on power, water, and sustainability.